Sylvania



Aug. 25, 1925. 1,551,390

A. M`.\\HAYMAKER ET Al. SAFETY B/EAM DOG AND RAIL FORK /Filed Dec. 10. 1924 attua,

Patented Aug. 25, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR 1VI. HAYIVIAKER, OF PITTSBURGH, AND JOHN C. GOODNIGl-IT, 0F HAYS, PENN- SYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS 'IO HOMESTEAD IRON WORKS CO., 0F HOMESTEAD, PENN- 'SYLVANUL SAFETY BEAM noe AND RAIL FORK.

. 10 all whom t may concern.'

Be 1t known that we, (l) ARTHUR M. HaY- MAKER and (2) JOHN C. GooDNIGH'r, citizens of the United States of America, residing at (l) Pittsburgh and (2) Hays, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Beam Dogs and Rail Forks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a safety beam dog and rail fork.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an implement adapted for handling heavy beams and rails without danger of injuring the user or adjacent workmen.

A further object of the invention is to provide an implement especially adapted for turning heavy beams and rails for permitting different sides or edges of the said beams and rails to be conveniently worked upon.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a beam dog and rail fork having a work engaging portion which may be arranged in more than one work performing position in respect to its handle portion.

Another object of the invention is to provide an implement of the above mentioned type which will reduce to a minimum the number of casualties constantly occuring, due to the use of the type of beam dog and rail fork now available to the class of workmen in question.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the safety beam dog and rail fork embodying this invention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the implement shown in Fig. l,

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken upon line IlI-II of Fig. 2,

Figure 4 is a detail elevational View of a type of friction disk employed in the implement embodying this invention and illustrated in operative position in Figs. 2 and 3,

Figure 5 is an elevational View, partly broken away, of the beam dog and rail fork embodying this invention arranged in operative relation to a heavy beam, shown in section, and further illustrates the functioning of the implement during the operation of turning the said beam away from the user of the implement.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view of the beam dog and rail fork in operative position in respect to a heavy beam resting upon its side on a plurality of supporting blocks and illustrates the work engaging portion of the implement arranged in a different work performing position than the position illustrated in Fig. 5, and

Figure 7 illustrates the implement embodying this invention operatively associated with a channel beam and having its work engaging portion arranged in respect to the handle portion for permitting the channel beam to be turned toward the operator of the implement.

Briefiy described, the beam dog and rail fork embodying this invention comprises a handle portion having a work engaging portion pivotally associated with one end thereof and capable of being arranged in two work performing positions in respect thereto. holding the work engaging portion in either of these two positions under ordinary conditions, i. e., while in use or while being operatively associated with the work to be handled. This means, however, will not function to prevent pivoting of the work engaging portion from its selected work performing position toward the remaining work performing position should the work being handled shift, of its own momentum, in the same direction as that in which it is being moved. Too much consideration cannot be given this feature, for therein lies the great value of the article.

In the handling of heavy metal beams and rails, during the cutting, drilling, and joining of the same, it often becomes necessary to turn the beams and rails so that different sides or edges of the same may be conveniently worked upon. rlhis turning of the work is accomplished by manual labor and the men doing such work are in the habit of using what are termed beam dogs and rail forks. The trade is at this time using beam dogs and rail forks of the rigid type, i. e.,

There is further provided means forv implements having work engaging portions which are formed integral with the handle portions, or at least immovable in respect thereto. To turn a heavy beam or rail, it usually requires the combined strength of several men, each supplied with one of the implements in question. The men arrange themselves on one side of the beam or rail and, after fitting their implements to a flange of the beam or rail, lift or pull in unison until the work passes its center of gravity when it will travel of its own momentum to a position of rest. The travel of the beam or rail under its own momentum is usually very rapid and such movement occurs with more or less uncertainty.

In using the rigid type of beam dog and rail fork it is necessary for the workmen to disconnect their implements from the work, by a quick jerk in a longitudinal direction, at the time the beam or rail starts moving under its own power. Very often one of the men will fail to disconnect his im plement at the proper time, whereby if the work is being turned toward the unfortunate man, he is liable to have his feet or hands pinned to the tioor by the handle of his implement; while if the work is being turned in the opposite direction, he is liable to be jerked over the beam or rail and injured. He may, however, succeed in letting go of the implement before it throws him, but then the tool is inif'ariably disconnected from the work and thrown with considerable force across the shop. It is useless to try and describe what will happen to anyone in the path of the flying implement.

lith the safety beam dog1 and rail fork embodying this invention, the work engaging portion may be selectively arranged in either of its work performing positions, de pending upon the manner in which the implement is to be placed in engagement with the work and the direction in which the work is to be turned. Force may then be applied to the handle of the tool and the work turned. llhen the beam or rail starts to move of its own momentum, its speed of travel will be faster than the movements of the workmen and the work engaging portions of their tools will pivot, in respect to the handle portions, in the opposite direction to the direction the force is being applied. rhis automatic yielding` or lost motion of the implement will eliminate all danger of injury to the user or surrounding workmen for the implement may be kept well in control and the work engaging portion will very often automatically slip from the work as the latter starts to move by itself.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of this invention, the numeral 5 designates a fiat head having a pocket 6 formed therein and opening outwardly through the two right angular-ly arranged edges 7 and 8 thereof. A fulcrum pin 9 passes transversely through this flat head 5 and intersects the pocket G. with this head 5 and projects from one of the unbroken edges of the same.

fluitabljfY connected to this shank il), as by being sweated thereupon, is a bar ll which acts the handle of the implement. It is to be understood that the head 5 may be prorided with an integrally formed bar instead of the shank l() and bar ll, however, it is believed the method of constructing the implement in the manner illustrated will facilitate production.

Pivotally mounted upon the pin 9 is the work engaging nose or jaw l2 which is formed vih a substantially tf-shaped slot 13 in its body portion and has the shank la projecting in axial alinement with the said slot. lt will new be seen that this work engaging nose or jaw l2 may be arranged in longitudinal alinement with the handle ll, with one edge of the shank engaging one inner wall of the pocket 6, or the said nose or jaw may be positioned at right angles to the handle bar 1l or with its opposite edge engaging the remaining inner wall of the pocket 6. These two positions represent the two work performing positions of the nose or jaw.

For the purpose of holding the work engaging nose or jaw l2 in either of these positions, or for preif'enting too free a movement of the said nose or jaw, the resilient conveXo-concave friction disks l5 are interposed between the opposite side faces of the shank lll of the work engaging nose or jaw and the side walls of the pocket G and with the fulcrum pin 9 passing through the central openingv 16 of each friction disk.

ln Fig. the safety beam dog and rail fork embodying this invention is shown with one flange of the I beam lV positioned in the slot 13 of its nose or jaw 12, the said work engaging nose or jaw being arranged in its work performing position in axial alinement with the bar ll. To turn the beam lV in the direction illustrated in dotted lines, the workman handling the implement should pull upon the bar ll for moving the same in the direction indicated by the arrow line -(z-. After the I beam lV is moved into its dotted line position or with its center of gravity past the center line shown, the id l beam will move of its own momentum and will require no further exertion on the part of the workman. As

the beam starts to move by itself, its speed of movement will be great-er than the movement of the handler of the implement with the result that the work engaging nose or jaw l2 will pivot in respect to the head toward its remaining work performing A shank l0 is formed t llt) position. It will be understood that no force need at this time be applied to the nose or jaw 12 and the liange of the I beam XV will almost always slip out of the slot 13 of the member 12. However, should the flange be wedged in this slot, the bar 11 will be moved downwardly in the direction of the arrow line Such a movement of the bar 11 can result in no injury to the user.

In Fig. 6, there is shown an I beam W which is resting upon a plurality of blocks B. To turn Ithis I beam YV away from the workmen handling the same, the said workmen will arrange the work engaging portions of their implements in right angularly extending positions in respect to the handle portions and will place the former in engagement with the under-flange ofthe beam in lthe manner illustrated. By moving the handle portions of their implements in the direction of the arrow line a, the beam iV will be turned away from the handlers. After the beam starts to move under its own momentum, its speed of travel will be greater than the speed of movement of the bar 11 and the work engaging nose or jaw 12 will be pivoted into its remaining work performing position or into a position in 1ongitudinal alinement with the bar 11. This relative movement of the nose or jaw 12 in respect to the bar 11 will not produce any jerk or pull upon the latter and the user of the implement will be able to keep the latter in control.

In Fig. 7 the implement is illustrated as being properly associated with a channel beam 72 which is to be turned toward the workmen handling the same. The handle or bar 11 should be moved in the direction of the arrow line lt will be clearly understood that when the channel beam W2 starts to move by itself, it will slip from the slot 13 and will not transmit any` jerk through the bar 11 to the workman.

It is now believed that the method of construction and the manner of operating the safety beam dog and rail fork embodying this invention will be clearly understood from the above detail description.

lt is to be understood that the form of this invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, we claim 1. As a means for turning beams and the like, an implement having a handle and a work gripping portion connected to move relatively to each other, and means for limiting the extent of such relative movement for permitting the work gripping portion to be arranged in two work performing pesitions, said means being operative with the work gripping portion in either of said work performing positions to produce a direct leverage action during the earlier portion of the turning movement and a lost motion action during the remainder of the turning movement with the lost motion action causing a movement of the work gripp-ing portion toward its remaining work performing position.

2. As a means for turning beams and the like, an implement having a handle and a work gripping portion connected to move relatively to each other on a fixed aXis with the aXis transverse to the direction of the turning movement, and means for limiting the extent of such relative movement for permitting the work gripping portion to be arranged in two work performing positions, said means being operative with the work gripping portion in either of said work performing positions to produce a direct leverage action during the earlier portion of the turning movement and a lost motion action during the remainder of the turning movement with the lost motion action causing a movement of the work gripping portion toward its remaining work performing position.

3. As a means for turning beams and the like, an implement comprising a handle bar, a work engaging nose pivotally carried thereby, and means for restricting the pivotal movement of said nose to permit the latter to be moved from one to the other of two work performing positions one at right angles lto and the other in alinement with said handle bar.

4, As a means for turning beams and the like, an implement having a handle portion, a work engaging portion pivotally carried thereby, and friction means for retarding the pivotal movement of the work engaging portion in respect to the handle portion.

5. As a means for turning beams and the like, an implement comprising a handle portion, a work engaging portion carried thereby capable of being selectively arranged in either of two work performing positions, and means for preventing the weight of the work engaging portion from accidentally moving the latter out of either of its work performing positions.

6. As a means for turning beams and the like, an implement comprising a handle bar, a work engaging nose pivotally carried thereby, means for restricting the pivotal movement of said nose for permitting the latter| to be arranged in two work performing positions one at right angles to and the other in alinement with said handle bar, and friction meansv for preventing accidental pivotal movement of the work engaging nose in respect to the handle bar.

7. As a means for turning beams and the like, an implement comprising a handle, a head carried thereby and having a pocket opening` outwardly thru two right-angularly arranged faces thereof, and a slotted nose pivoted in the pocket of the head and permitted to be arranged in tivo Work performing positions one at right angles to and the other in alinement with said handle.

8. As a means 'for turning` beams and the like, an implement Comprising a handle, a head carried thereby, a slotted nose pivotally Carried by the head and permitted to be arranged in tivo Work performing positions one at right angles to and the other in alinement With said handle,l and a friction disk interposed between said nose and head for preventing unintentional relative movement therebetween.

9. As a means for turning beams and the like, an implement having a handle portion, a Work engaging portion pivotally carried thereby, and friction means for preventing' unintentional pivotal movement of the Work engaging portion in respect 4to the handle portion.

In testimony whereof We aiiix our sig* natures.

ARTHUR) M. HAYMAKER JOHN C. GOODNIGHT. 

